


Abominations

by yoshizora



Category: Xenoblade Chronicles 2
Genre: Post-Game, Pre-Canon, Torna: The Golden Country DLC
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-05
Updated: 2019-01-05
Packaged: 2019-10-04 18:23:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17309594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yoshizora/pseuds/yoshizora
Summary: Minoth happens to stumble upon the Aegis by pure chance, on a completely unassuming day.





	Abominations

**Author's Note:**

> i ship it lol

Minoth happens to stumble upon the Aegis by pure chance, on a completely unassuming day.

Coeia is a rather arid Titan. Much of the terrain of its broad back is craggy wastelands with pockets of oases and massive, twisted trees that provide shade for smaller plants and wildlife to rest from the harsh sun. Malos is lazing beneath one of the trees, completely out of place amidst the dreary scenery. He regards Minoth with idle disinterest when all Minoth can do is stop in his tracks and _stare._

“You’re…”

“Hm,” Malos sits upright and draws a knee up to prop an arm upon it, all nonchalant slouch that belie that incredibly threatening energy hanging around him like a cloud of flies. “A Blade without a Driver, huh?”

Minoth takes a step back. Malos notices. His mouth splits into a small grin now, actually curious.

“Wait a minute. That Core Crystal… you’re that thing Amalthus mentioned, once.”

 _That thing._ Minoth feels the anger beginning to spill into his fists, itching to reach for his gunblades holstered at his hips. But he keeps them clenched and unmoving, even when Malos stands up.

“The unity between Blade and human. Poetic, is it?” Malos sneers, bearing down upon Minoth as he takes a step backwards for every step Malos takes forward. “How sad for you, to come to such a pitiful existence.”

“Spare me your sympathy, Aegis.”

“Hey, now.” Malos chuckles. “Who said I even give a damn? You’re just… a mistake.”

Minoth can tell. He knows it. Malos is deliberately trying to provoke him— for what, a fight? To alleviate that brief stint of boredom before Amalthus arrives? Disgusting.

But…

His ether is overwhelming, even from where he stands. It’s only a matter of time before Malos no longer needs his Driver, just as Minoth no longer needs Amalthus.

And the Quaestor likely isn’t even aware of this.

“What are you planning?”

“All in due time… Minoth.” Malos, completely repulsive in his power and arrogance, taps a finger against his Core Crystal and sweeps an arm out.

“Coeia won’t take your presence so lightly, once they realize you’re here. They know of Indol's intentions.”

“Like that’ll matter.”

Something shudders deep within his gut. Minoth presses his mouth into a thin line and contemplates what’s surely to come. He needs to get away from Coeia as soon as possible. Maybe catch a ship to Torna. Of that much, he’s certain, and there’s a numbness to the realization that he alone cannot do anything to stop this Aegis or save the doomed people of this Titan. There’s not enough time. _There’s not enough time._

“Or is it because you _don’t_ want to do anything?” Malos asks, still tapping his Core Crystal with that horrid grin.

Minoth snarls. He’s no longer attached to Amalthus. It isn’t like that anymore.

 

* * *

 

Minoth happens to stumble upon the Aegis by pure chance, on a completely unassuming day.

This Titan is a relatively young one, its wingspan not large enough to host a country of the likes of Mor Ardain or Uraya. It drifts low along the surface of the Cloud Sea. All sorts of things wash up upon its shores.

Malos, half his face an unrecognizable mess and his limbs not even close to fully formed, writhes and twitches on the wet sand like an insect that had had its legs cut off. He gapes up at Minoth, that single eye he has wildly spinning in its socket, a furious, guttural cry emitting endlessly from his throat. As Minoth watches, something that’s meant to resemble a hand sprouts from the branch of a twisted arm, all wrong and grotesque, and reaches up at him with clawing motions.

“So the Aegis lives on.”

Malos is all fury and suffering, three hundred years not enough to restore his former self. His wild gaze manages to focus on that aged face. “ _Myyythraaaa._ ”

“No one knows where she is. Too bad for you, eh?”

This thing that was once a mighty Aegis continues to helplessly thrash on the ground. His Core Crystal has a deep crack running through it. No wonder he’s unable to properly manifest his body. Minoth stares for a moment, then crouches beside him, just out of reach.

“How sad for you, to come to such a pitiful existence.”

Something inside that deformed head must have clicked; Malos goes still, staring wide-eyed at Minoth.

“You know, we’re rather actually alike, you and I.”

“ _Mmmmythrrrraa._ ”

He knows the taste of Amalthus’s hatred all too well. Minoth sadly shakes his head at _this thing._

“Words can be a curse, Malos.” He feels nothing but contempt. No pity, no sympathy. No hate.

Never hate.

“You’re a wretched being. A hideous monster, far beyond saving.”

He isn’t even sure if the words are registering in Malos, as damaged as his entire being is. But he continues to stare and gape and utter that furious, desperate chant for his fellow Aegis, still trying and failing to reform anything resembling proper limbs. No longer is he that vicious beast that had gleefully mocked their suffering as he brought Torna’s doom upon them all.

Minoth stands up. He begins to push Malos’s deformed vessel back toward the Cloud Sea with one foot, like he’s nothing more than a piece of garbage that had drifted ashore.

“ _Hhhideous. Mmmonster. Far— far— far beyoooond. Savinnng,_ ” Malos mindlessly repeats, unable to fight back against Minoth’s foot.

“Yeah. That’s right. I ought to just… finish off your Core Crystal here, and stop you from ever coming back again. The world doesn’t need Aegises any longer.”

It’s not hate, he tells himself.

“But," he sighs, pausing the kicks there. "No amount of suffering will ever let you atone for all those lives you took. This is your fate, Malos. Spend the rest of your miserable existence simmering in that knowledge.”

And Minoth gives him one last kick. Malos lets out a hoarse scream that quickly turns to muffled gurgles as he sinks beneath the clouds. With any luck, he would sink to whatever lies at the very bottom and stay there.

Minoth grits his teeth, only now realizing how tightly his fists are clenched. He breathes hard and sits down in the sand, cradling his head in his hands.

 

* * *

 

_How sad for you, to come to such a pitiful existence._


End file.
